scholarly journals Imagining ‘non-nationality’: Cosmopolitanism as a source of identity and belonging

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Skovgaard-Smith ◽  
Flemming Poulfelt
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Cultural Features

Current literature tends to see cosmopolitan identity formation as an individual endeavour of developing a stance of openness, and transcending discourses of national and other cultural identities. This article challenges the essentialism inherent in this model by proposing a different framing of cosmopolitan identity formation that shifts the focus to how people collectively mobilize cosmopolitanism as a resource for cultural identity construction. The article is based on an anthropological study of transnational professionals who are part of a diverse expatriate community in Amsterdam. The analysis shows how these professionals draw on cosmopolitanism to define themselves as ‘non-nationals’. This involves downplaying national affiliations and cultural differences while also marking national identity categories and ‘cultural features’ to maintain the difference they collectively embrace. This, however, does not imply openness to all otherness. Boundary drawing to demarcate the cosmopolitan ‘us’ in relation to national (mono)culture is equally important. The article argues that cosmopolitan identities are socially accomplished as particular modes of collective belonging that are part of – not beyond – a global discursive sphere of identity politics.

scholarly journals Representations of suppressed indigenous cultural memories: the communities of Sami of Finland and Kurdish of Turkey

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-175
Author(s):  
Adél Furu
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Folk Music ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
The Past ◽  
Traditional Songs ◽  
State Interventions

In my paper I intend to examine how the historical marginalization of Sami and Kurdish history and culture affects the cultural identity of these ethnic groups. I discuss how recent political discourses and state interventions have influenced the images of the past and identity politics in the Sami communities living in Finland and in the Kurdish society living in Turkey. Furthermore, I describe how these assimilated minorities have alienated from their own identity due to a damage of their collective memory caused by devastating historical events. The paper also focuses on the ways these two minorities give meaning to the past and strengthen their cultural identities through different forms of art. Both Samis and Kurds express their identities in several creative ways. Their historical realities, individual histories, memories of assimilation and common values are reflected in joiks, folk music and cinema. These are strong ways of remembering and expressions of identity in both cultures. Traditional songs, films, documentaries reveal histories, reproduce cultures and shape the memories of both Sami and Kurdish people. Therefore, I will discuss how the patterns of their cultural memory have an impact on the representation of their identities in the above art forms.

scholarly journals The Shared Dream of the Americas: An Introduction to Americanity

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1,2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Guyot
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Shed Light

While the cultural identities of Latin America, Québec and the Antilles have long been forged around a single reference, namely to their European past, they currently show signs of rupture and heterogeneity. Thinkers from Québec (Sherry Simon, Pierre Nepveu, Gérard Bouchard), the Antilles (Glissant, Chamoiseau, Confiant) and Brazil (Bernd) have been revisiting the concepts of origin and space from a completely different perspective. No longer would Europe be the anchor of their totalitarian-shaped cultural identity; the roots and origins of this identity construction would have to be found elsewhere, in a new environment perhaps, embracing the modernity and diversity that are celebrated in the concepts of hybridity, transculturalism, creolization, which all slowly lead to a mythical crossroads: America.However, the establishment of a symbolic relation with the American territory remains somewhat problematic as the concept of Americanity relies on diverse discourses which can be contradictory at times. In this essay, I aim to shed light on the trendy concept that Americanity has become. On the one hand, I will point out the ambiguity that surrounds the concept, and on the other hand, I will briefly explain how the different perspectives in the reappropriation of the American space could lead to the establishment of America as a shared elsewhere.

scholarly journals Cultivating College Students’ National Culture Identity Based on English Education

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Yang Yuan ◽  
Lu Fang
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
National Culture ◽  
English Education ◽  
Present Situation ◽  
Identity Based

<p>Our country is a multi-ethnic country with plentiful national culture achievements, and the development of the national culture shows a trend of diversity, so cultural identity construction is particularly important. Article analyzes the concept of national identity, the relation between cultural identity and ethnic identity, the present situation of national cultural identity in the English education in our country, and the English education and national culture identity education in surrounding neighbor countries, then proposes some suggestions of implementing national cultural identity education based on English Education.</p>

Professional identity construction: Using narrative to understand the negotiation of professional and stigmatized cultural identities

2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly S Slay ◽  
Delmonize A Smith
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Professional Roles ◽  
Professional Self

While there is growing interest in professional identity construction (e.g. Clarke et al., 2009), little is known about how stigma may influence the development of professional identity. Professional identity is defined as one’s professional self-concept based on attributes, beliefs, values, motives, and experiences (Ibarra, 1999; Schein, 1978). Professional identity construction under conditions of stigmatized cultural identity presents an interesting puzzle. Professional roles are defined as prestigious and provide the role holder with autonomy (Benveniste, 1987) and, often, a degree of privilege. However, stigmatized persons are often accorded little prestige and/or privilege because their identities are tainted. Thus, the purpose of our research is to build and enrich theory around professional identity construction by investigating the development of professional identity under conditions of stigmatized cultural identity. To accomplish this goal, we study narratives written by 20 prominent African American journalists (Terry, 2007) who discuss what it means to be both Black and reporters.

scholarly journals Dealing with Cultural Identities: A Study of Nepalese Families in Tokyo

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Mehta Kalu Singh
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Native Culture ◽  
Cultural Identity Development ◽  
Cultural Identity Formation ◽  
Depth Interviews

In recent years, the Nepalese migrant population in Japan has increased exponentially. The number reached 88,951 in 2018, becoming the largest south Asian population in Japan. This number includes people in various visa categories: skilled labor, engineer, business, dependent, student and so on. The number of school children lies somewhere around 10,000. A child born and raised in a culture different to their parents’ culture goes through a complex cultural identity formation process. In this context, this paper explores children’s cultural identity development and promotion by migrant Nepalese families in Tokyo. In particular, it examines which cultural identities they are prioritizing and how they are developing host cultural identities while maintaining their native culture. The experiences of these migrant Nepalese parents were collected through in-depth interviews with 45 parents. The responses suggest that these parents are prioritizing the promotion of a Nepalese cultural identity for their child(ren). Parents focus on promoting and participating in Nepalese festivals, cooking Nepalese food at home, and meeting other Nepalese families in Japan. However, almost every parent expressed their desire for the development of a multicultural sense in their child(ren).

Introduction

Cinesonidos ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Avila
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Present State ◽  
Sound Design ◽  
Moving Image ◽  
Mexican Cinema ◽  
Visual Phenomenon ◽  
State Of Research

This chapter discusses the present state of research on music in Mexican cinema and why a study is so important. Building on frameworks of nationalism and cultural identity in Mexico the author utilizes the concept of “cultural synchresis,” which draws upon sound theorist Michel Chion’s model of synchresis—the combination of synchronism and synthesis that arises when an auditory phenomenon and a visual phenomenon occur at the same time. Using this model, the author investigates how repetitions of film—as bodies of music, the moving image, and narrative working in tandem—molded diverse codes of national identity construction aimed and recognized by urban audiences. This juxtaposition of the narrative, moving image (which encompasses the costuming, setting, lighting, etc.), and sound (which includes diegetic and non-diegetic music and sound design) produced encoded messages representing specific interpretations of Mexicanidad (the cultural identity of the Mexican people) that impacted collective memory.

Theorizing Cultural Identities: Historical Institutionalism as a Challenge to the Culturalists

2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Lecours
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Charles Taylor ◽  
Historical Institutionalism ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Cultural Approach ◽  
Will Kymlicka ◽  
Multiethnic States ◽  
Inherent Strength ◽  
The Way

The interest of philosophers in the politics of cultural identity was one of the most interesting developments in this field in the 1990s. Their involvement in an area dominated by historians, sociologists, political scientists and anthropologists2 has been particularly evident in Canada where scholars such as Will Kymlicka and Charles Taylor have shaped the way many academics understand cultural identity politics. These theorists have favoured a cultural approach to the phenomenon. They have established frameworks for understanding and managing multiethnic states that stress the inherent strength and meaning of culture.

scholarly journals Idealized Nationalism in Downton Abbey

2018 ◽  
pp. 6-17
Author(s):  
Christa Rydeberg Aakjær
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Nationalism And Identity

With the Downton Abbey series as a starting point, this study examines how fictional media is a new source of renegotiating national identity, in this case Englishness. A close analysis of Downton Abbey and similar cultural phenomena shows how heritage film modify and idealize certain aspects and values of history to alter and ultimately rewrite the memory of history. Different definitions of nationalism and identity are explored to lay the basis of a discussion of why Downton Abbey appeared when it did and how fictional productions of history and culture might key to the recreation of contemporary cultural identity. Thus, this article will reveal the connection between the popularity of heritage productions and their impact on the cultivation of cultural identities and national sentiments.

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